Dead Bite
by ISawACat
Summary: It's hard to imagine living in a world that has lost control of everything thanks to a mysterious infection that was quickly spread around the earth. To add the icing on the cake, it's filled with what was supposed to remain dead that now has the ability to change the living.
1. Chapter 1

How many times would he hear those repeating sounds? Crunching leaves, fire crackling, and the occasional groaning from those monsters that roamed the streets. Yet, the silence was far more nerve-wracking than the noises. Within the silence, Misaki wasn't sure what could jump out and possibly attack him if he wasn't aware of his surroundings. He pressed himself onto the burned wall, hugging the metal bat to his chest. It was getting dark already and he just needed to get the supplies he left in the building and leave.

Misaki took a deep breath, slowly looking around the corner. In the dim lighting from inside the building, he could spot what looked like two bodies, one of them slightly moving. He headed inside, walking at a slow pace. Better safe than sorry. As he approached, he momentarily stopped and clamped a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't gag at the sight and horrid smell.

It was one of those...things. Misaki wasn't sure what exactly to call them as it wasn't human but not dead either. He only knew how dangerous they were, not shy from attacking others. He could only see from behind but knew it was devouring what was once alive and breathing. From Misaki's point of view, he saw limbs torn off, covered in blood with abnormal teeth marks penetrated into the skin.

He absolutely did his best to never look at the dead bodies he would see as he wandered. They would be missing heads, limbs, even internal organs that were clearly ripped apart. Sometimes, it was impossible to figure out if it was even human at all. These thoughts made Misaki shudder. He didn't know what would be worse. Be dead or be like them? He didn't want to know the answer in any case.

Misaki slowly got closer, knowing his boundaries between safety and death, and raised his bat. At that moment, it turned around as Misaki swung the bat into its skull, causing it to fall over the body with a loud shriek. Before it could attack, Misaki smashed the bat into its head again and again until it was unrecognizable. Once he knew it was dead and wouldn't give him a surprise attack, he leaned on the metal bat to catch his breath. Even with the danger gone, his heart had not calmed down, beating a mile a minute.

"I've killed several of these things before but... why do I still feel scared?" Misaki muttered as he stared at the bodies than his trembling hands. He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be asking questions, he came here for the supplies. Carefully walking around the bloody mess, he searched the area until he found a small, dirty bag. Misaki opened it and let out a sigh of relief. Everything was still in the bag. Now, he was going to get the hell out of there before any trouble started up.

* * *

Traveling at night wasn't safe, especially in the woods, but Misaki knew this from personal experience. He tried to only move during the day so he could find a hiding spot for the night. Misaki found what seemed to be an abandoned bus. He wasn't sure how it ended up here but he didn't really think about it too much. Luckily, there was nothing dangerous hanging around so he could relax, even if it was only for a minute.

With the door open, he sat down on the steps, laying his bat down onto the ground as he opened the bag. There was only an empty water bottle, a pocket knife, and medicine with some bandages. It wasn't a lot but it was all Misaki really needed at the moment. He was by himself anyways so he didn't need to get anything extra. He sat up on the steps and was about to settle down until he heard what sounded like a gunshot.

Misaki froze in place, listening carefully to make sure he wasn't imagining it. Of course, with Misaki's luck, another shot went off, this time sounding a lot closer than before. After tossing the bag onto a random seat, he bounced off the steps and went to grab his bat, preparing for anything.

"So persistent! Get the hell away from me!" Before Misaki could react, a male came rolling out of some bushes with the thing on top of him, screeching as it tried to claw at him. He pressed the side of a rifle to its neck, pushing it away as much as he could. Misaki ran over to him and swung his bat at the creature, knocking it off him. The stranger then pointed his gun at it and fired. The screeching was cut short as they watched it slump to the ground, letting the silence fill the air once more.

Misaki panted a bit. He hardly did anything but felt exhausted just from swinging his bat. It wasn't heavy for him but it felt surprisingly light to hold, even using one hand if he needed to attack or defend himself. Anyhow, he could think about this later.

"Hey..." Misaki spoke up. "Are you okay?" He lent a hand down to the guy, who took it and pulled him up from the ground. "Mhm. Thanks for the help," he answered, dusting some dirt off himself, taking a look at the bus. "You live here?"

"Not necessarily... I'm just staying for a night. I don't like traveling while it's dark," Misaki replied, shyly rubbing his arm, turning to look at the bus. "So, what's your name?" Misaki asked, changing the subject. He didn't want to give too much information to a stranger. That was just common sense to know.

"It's Shinobu," he told him as he slugged the rifle over his shoulder, skipping to a first name basis. There was no need for a formal title in this kind of situation so might as well as to skip it. It's kinda funny, Misaki thought, little things like titles have been forgotten due to what's happened around the world. No matter what, escaping reality was impossible as if it was a dream that would force you to suffocate if you dared to attempt grabbing onto it.

"Hey, you okay there?" Shinobu waved his hand in front of Misaki's face, causing him to slightly jump in surprise. "I'm fine. Sorry about that. I guess I sorta zoned out there for a second. I'm Misaki."

Shinobu looked him up and down before he softly sighed. "So listen, since you saved me, I have to repay you somehow." He turned toward the direction from where he had appeared just a couple of minutes ago. "I'm staying with a group of people and we found an apartment to hide in. It's a lot safer than that bus," he commented, shifting his head toward the bus before looking back at Misaki. "Plus, zombies won't be able to get you."

"Zombies?" Misaki questioned as the blonde gave him a curious look. "Have you never heard of zombies?"

He shook his head, "No, I know what zombies are but..."

The concept of zombies existing was only in horror movies and video games, not real life. There was no way these things were zombies. Or maybe, Misaki wondered, was that he already knew they were zombies but didn't want to actually believe in it. He sighed, ignoring the thought wasn't going to change what they were. But for them to actually exist was just startling. Never in his life would he imagine himself actually having to fight what was already dead.

"Never imagined them to actually be real right?" Shinobu laughed bitterly. "I don't think any of us thought that it would be. Amazing how life works. Anyways, are you coming with me or do I have to drag you there?"

"I..well..." Misaki started but quickly shut his mouth. Shinobu didn't look like he was lying but his inner conscious told him to just stay alone.

"Misaki, just let me be nice and repay you. When it's morning, you can leave and do whatever you want."

"...alright." Misaki gave in, "but first let me just get what I left on the bus." Shinobu nodded. "Alright, but we better hurry so we don't get attacked again."

Misaki then headed back to the bus and climbed inside, checking the seats to see where he tossed the bag. After getting it, he got back out just as fast, heading back to where Shinobu was waiting for him. "Ready to go?" Misaki nodded, following the blonde as he took the lead. They remained silent as they walked, the sounds of bugs, leaves and crushing branches and small rocks. Misaki eventually started to walk next to him, rather than behind.

"Hey, Misaki? Feel free to not answer if you don't want to but why are you by yourself?" Misaki looked over at him before looking up at the sky, admiring the stars shining in the vast darkness. "I didn't plan on being alone. You see, I'm looking for someone. We've been together since this all started but got separated about two weeks ago. Ever since then, I've been trying to look for him."

Shinobu nodded slowly. "I see." The silence came back, only to leave a moment later. "Why did you ask me that?" Misaki asked, confused by the question. Shinobu shrugged, "I don't see many people by themselves. I only knew that when you didn't mention anything about other people, so you had to be by yourself for some reason. Simple really."

Misaki didn't reply and decided to let his mind wander a bit. He was exhausted, and to be honest, being in an apartment sounded much better than a bus. It was a good thing Shinobu showed up when he did. Guess luck was on his side for now.

* * *

 **I apologize in advance, my writing is pretty rusty and the characters are probably OOC but I hope you enjoyed this!**


	2. Chapter 2

The only sounds from the boys as they walked was the occasional crunching and clicking from whatever was in the woods. That is until Misaki realized that the pouch he had on him decided to vanish. Slightly amused, Shinobu reassured him that they could find it later when it was brighter outside.

Misaki waved it off, saying it wasn't that important. Of course, he was lying about that but there's no use crying over spilled milk. "Anyways, how much longer till we get there?"

"Maybe another five minutes. We weren't that far off from it so it'll be pretty soon," Shinobu replied, raising his arms over his head to stretch.

"Does something feel...off right now?" Shinobu asked, abruptly stopping in place. Misaki tilted his head a bit. "No...not to me at least. Why?" The blonde crossed his arms, glancing around every so often. "I don't want to worry you but I think we're being watched."

Misaki got slightly closer to Shinobu, "What do you mean we're being watched? Do you think it's the zombies?"

"No. If it was zombies we'd be attacked by now. It's someone alive." He cupped his hands around his mouth, "Hey jackass! Quit watching us and come out like a man!" Misaki grabbed his arm, "Shinobu! What do you think you're doing!? Are you trying to get us killed!?"

Pushing Misaki away slightly, he began to yell again into the dark, foul language practically spilling put from his mouth.

"Shinobu, stop it! You're making too much noise and-" A bullet had passed Misaki, causing them to jump. Laughter ensued as a boy walked out from behind some trees. "Oh man, the look on your faces is priceless! Man, I wish technology worked so I could take a picture of this."

Shinobu marched up to him and shoved him, almost knocking him to the ground. "You asshole! The hell did you think you were doing?!"

"Relax, it wasn't that bad."

"You tried shooting at us!"

"It was supposed to give you an adrenaline rush."

"That's a funny way to show it!"

Misaki stood there quietly watching the two bicker, occasionally checking behind himself. His heart had finally settled down. If he had stood in a different spot, that bullet would have hit him. He shuddered, not wanting to imagine what could have been. He couldn't imagine how horrible that would have felt.

"Last time I saw you, my sister was with you," Shinobu said as he jabbed the male's chest with his finger, "So where did she go?"

"She went back to the camp. I think. She said that she was tired so she left."

Shinobu rubbed his head and sighed, "You're gonna give me a headache."

A few crunching sounds could be heard from behind them. A loud growl came after. Misaki gripped the baseball bat in his hand tighter. "I think we should get out of here. Now." The other two boys agreed, almost jogging to make the sounds farther away.

* * *

The first thing Misaki noticed when they arrived at the apartment was all the broken glass. What made him uneasy was that most of the glass was drenched in blood, both old and recent. He glanced over at Shinobu, "So, it's safe?" Shinobu nodded, kicking some glass as they walked. "Yeah, we checked most of the floors and rooms. Nothing but corpses and stuff knocked over. A few survivors were found as well and luckily not infected."

The guy, who was introduced as Suzuki, moved a part of his hair out of his face and added a cheesy grin. "Lucky you I was one of the survivors. This adventure would have been so boring without me here."

Suzuki was a few inches taller than Misaki and had blonde hair like Shinobu, except his was a bit longer. He was probably the same age, maybe a year or two older. Suzuki certainly didn't act his age, however, with the way he spoke.

"This adventure was fine before you showed up," Shinobu retorted, making air quotes around the word 'adventure' before opening the main door. Suzuki placed a hand to his chest, feigning hurt. "That's so mean of you to say. You don't have to lie to me." Shinobu simply rolled his eyes.

The inside of the building was barely lit with a few flickering lights and, of course, more broken glass. The floors and walls were covered in mud and whatever substance had dried. Misaki was still uneasy but at least it wasn't so bloody. "I'll be fine," he told himself, "Stop being so scared."

Suzuki wrapped an arm around Misaki's shoulder, "You ready to meet our group? We're nice and it's only a few of us together. It's nice to have more company around. Besides, any friend of Shinobu's is a friend of mine."

"Leave him alone. I don't want him to become an idiot like you," Shinobu said as he casually tossed his rifle onto the floor, which had plenty of other weapons lying around before he headed up the stairs. Suzuki chuckled, "He's gotta get laid. Badly. He's probably really pent up. Anyways, you're probably tired, aren't you?"

Misaki nodded, "It's been a long day." Besides, Misaki thought, I should rest so I can continue looking for-

"Hey, Misaki? You still with me dude?" Suzuki waved a hand in front of Misaki's face, causing him to laugh embarrassingly. "Of course. I guess I'm just a lot more tired than I thought. Don't worry about me."

"Maybe you should just get some sleep first, we can do introductions in the morning. You can leave your bat here if you want." Misaki looked over at the pile and at the bat. Making a decision, he decided to leave it with the rest of the weapons. So far, Misaki could trust them. They seemed to be a good group from how Suzuki and Shinobu were and they didn't look like they had any intention of betraying him. Misaki felt the tension in his body relax, letting his guard down for once.

* * *

 **Dorito - Thank you! Don't worry, you'll find out soon. I'm happy you like it so far!**

 **It's 1:32 am and I decided to finish and fix up this chapter. I'm gonna go pass out now. Thanks for reading!**


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